YOKAI MONSTERS: 100 MONSTERS w/ Live Electronic Score by 92Jelani and yuk.!

Just in time to round out 7th House’s spooky season at PRS, Switched on Cinema returns for another one-of-a-kind collision of strange cinema and electronic sound, presenting director Kimiyoshi Yasuda’s first entry in Daiei’s wonderfully weird Yokai Monsters trilogy, YOKAI MONSTERS: 100 MONSTERS (1968), accompanied by an all-new live score from Los Angeles electronic artists 92Jelani and yuk.!

The brainchild of dj A/D of KSPC’s Synthdactyl Program, Switched on Cinema pairs eclectically curated films with original live scores by synthesizer and electronics-based artists from Southern California’s music scene.

On YOKAI MONSTERS: 100 MONSTERS:

The first entry in Daiei’s beloved Yokai Monsters trilogy, 100 Monsters takes its inspiration from Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai (“A Gathering of One Hundred Supernatural Tales”), a centuries-old Japanese storytelling game in which participants trade ghost stories, extinguishing a light after each tale until the room is plunged into darkness. According to tradition, reaching the hundredth story risks summoning something supernatural, requiring a purification ritual to keep the spirit world at bay.

Against this eerie backdrop, a ruthless landowner schemes to clear out a tenement and destroy a local shrine, throwing its impoverished residents into the street. When he and his cronies make a mockery of the supernatural traditions they’ve disturbed—and neglect that all-important ritual—the creatures of their stories begin to materialize and pay a visit to the village. Soon the schemers find themselves besieged by a gloriously bizarre assortment of yokai: mischievous spirits, grotesque apparitions, a long-necked woman, a one-eyed umbrella creature, a sprightly turtle-like fellow, and a parade of supernatural surprises!

Produced by the studio behind Gamera and Daimajin, 100 Monsters mixes traditional Japanese ghost-story atmosphere with social satire, colorful practical effects, elaborate creature costumes, and a wonderfully playful sense of the uncanny. For this special presentation, 92Jelani and yuk. bring their distinctly different sonic vocabularies into conversation with the film: 92Jelani drawing upon the hypnotic and propulsive rhythms of his custom modular synth system, while yuk. creates an immersive atmosphere with modular samplers, cassette recordings, and found sound. Together, their original scores will reshape and open up new dimensions in the film—transforming 100 Monsters into a one-night-only experience that can only exist in the theater, in the moment, and live.

PLEASE NOTE: This special live-score presentation will be screened without the film’s original audio, with English captions providing the dialogue.

Dir. Kimiyoshi Yosuda, 1968, 80 mins, Japan, Japanese w/ English Subtitles, Unrated (Suitable for All Audiences), Digital.

Tickets: $15 (All Screenings Are In Person Only)

Please email events@prs.org or phone 323-663-2167 with any questions.